as in to complain
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
her husband nitpicks about everything: from how she puts the plates away to how she files the bills
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Recent Examples of nitpick
Instead of nitpicking, lean into creating a seductive self-care routine: luxurious baths with candles, essential oils, and maybe a little solo exploration under the sheets to remind yourself of your natural fire.
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Dossé-Via Trenou, refinery29.com, 18 Dec. 2024
People are sick of the Biden administration’s excessive overreach, including the intention to hire 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service agents to nitpick every aspect of their lives.
—Carol Miller, National Review, 16 Dec. 2024
Or perhaps division, as outsiders begin to nitpick the juggernaut and single out which players are most important to the pursuit.
—Kyle Tucker, The Athletic, 4 Apr. 2024
Margins Issues are Overblown Analysts were nitpicking margins, yet this concern is overblown.
—Beth Kindig, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for nitpick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nitpick
Verb
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For nothing is more European, at least in today’s Europe, than being bullied by Russia while complaining about the United States.—
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Meanwhile, in China's increasingly insular online environment, Chinese nationalists are openly complaining about the 19th century loss of territory in what is now Russia's Far East.—
Verb
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The soldier must choose between steps that work towards a compromise or rile up the quibbling parties.—
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That is so nice that Miss Manners does not want to quibble.—
Verb
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Naysayers often cavil that California’s economic growth depends almost entirely on Silicon Valley and the capital gains income of its wealthiest residents, but its primacy in high technology encompasses fields outside Northern California, such as biotech.—
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However, the actual interiors of this four-bedroom home are nothing to cavil at.—
Verb
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The world saw this five-man group as an ideal of friendship, a community working and living together, fussing and fighting but making rough beauty out of it.—
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Palmieri also has a 16-team no-trade list but, like Nelson, certainly should not be fussed about being moved to a Cup contender for a few months.—
Verb
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Men writhe and moan in the shadows just out of sight as a young gay man walks through the dark room at Adonis, Copenhagen’s only gay sauna.—
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Shows that not all football teams need to be Champions League contenders and not all fans need to be moaning about the failings of their club.—
Cite this Entry
“Nitpick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nitpick. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.
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